5 Best Websites To Get Higher Education For Free

by Anurag Bansal · Published January 29, 2015 · Updated January 29, 2015

Higher education from a renowned university doesn’t come cheap. It is one of the most important financial decisions you will make in your career. However, if you just want to brush up or learn few new skills, then checking out some of the MOOC courses could not only be beneficial but a very effective way to get higher education for free.

[themify_quote]A MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web.

What it means is that anyone who has access to internet can access, register and learn from these Massive Online courses. Most of these courses run for 4-12 weeks or more where lectures are delivered via recorded video. At the end of the each week, participants are encouraged to submit quizzes and assignments to validate their learning.

Some for-profit MOOC portals also offer certified specialization for a nominal fees.

Below are my favorite 5 websites that offer many great courses for free.

[themify_box style=”yellow info rounded” ]Note: If the course you want to register is not yet available, check back again. Most of these courses are offered continuously so sign up to be notified.[/themify_box]

5 Websites to get Higher Education for Free

Coursera is one of the most popular MOOC out there. It has partnerships with top universities such as University of Michigan, University of Virginia, University of California, Yale University, Stanford University and many more. You may find courses on almost every popular subject. Anyone can register and get access to the course material and assignments for free. If you want to earn a Verified Certificate, then you have to pay a nominal fees.

Some of the popular courses I found in “Business and Administration” are:

Khan Academy probably doesn’t need any introduction. Almost everyone has heard about it. It is essentially a hub of education where you can find courses for everyone and of any age. All the courses are available for Free. If you are a Parent or a teacher, you also get to track progress of your kids/students. Check out its massive database of questions for all ages.

Udacity is probably more catered towards techie crowd who wants to learn programming, web development and business development. Udacity has got partnerships with companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter and others to bring customized courses such as Android Development, Front End Web Developer and others. Check out the full catalog of courses on the site and see what interests you. Below are some of the ones I found interesting for web developers and start-up education:

EdX is also mainly catered towards Computer science and business education. EdX has partnered with many renowned universities such as MIT, Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, IIT Bombay and Boston University. You can sign up for any course for free but to earn a verified certification, you will have to pay a nominal fees. Some of the most popular courses in business development category are:

NovoEd has also partnered with many universities and offer course on many popular subjects. Check out the catalog to find out what interests you, though not many new courses are being offered. Some of the ones I found interesting and free are:

Anurag Bansal is the Founder & CEO of Techacker. He is an entrepreneur, technology enthusiasts and social media strategist helping startups and fellow entrepreneurs achieve success by leveraging the power of internet, social media and mobile web. Catch him on Twitter (@techacker), Facebook and Google+.